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Nicola Sturgeon’s push for independence following last week’s Brexit vote threatens to transform Scotland into “Greece without the sun” because its economy is far more reliant on the UK than the EU, a right-wing think tank has warned.

The Centre for Policy Studies acknowledged that the First Minister stating a second independence referendum is “highly likely” has some merit from a democratic standpoint, given 62 per cent of Scots that voted chose to remain in the EU.

Among the major problems it highlighted with Ms Sturgeon’s plan to leave the UK and join the EU were adopting the single currency, greater exposure to “shocks” in other Eurozone economies, the total collapse in North Sea revenues and Scotland’s massive budget deficit.

Although the report conceded Scotland’s position would not be directly comparable, it concluded that Greece’s extreme economic troubles “undoubtedly serve as useful reminder that countries with challenging public finances can end up suffering inside the euro.”

The strident warning about the economic ramifications of Ms Sturgeon’s stance came as Jim Sillars, the SNP’s former deputy leader, also argued that the rest of the UK is a far more significant market for Scottish goods than the EU.

Mr Sillars criticised Ms Sturgeon for having “nailed” the independence movement to EU membership and warned this could lead to defeat in any second referendum. Instead, he argued she should wait to see the terms of the Brexit deal struck between the UK and EU.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Sir Iain McMillan, the former director of business group CBI Scotland, challenged the First Minister to come forward with “constructive proposals” for what should be agreed.

He urged Ms Sturgeon to “work with the UK Government to get the best possible deal to get the best possible deal from Europe” and argued that refusing to do so will mean “she will have failed Scotland and failed its people.”

An independent Scotland in the EU faces having to swap the pound for the euroCredit:
Reuters

The warnings came at the end of a dramatic week during which Ms Sturgeon said she would propose a second independence referendum unless another way could be found to keep Scotland in the EU.

“Scotland trades over four times more with the rest of the UK compared to other EU countries. Why therefore would you break ties with the UK for the purpose of restoring ties with the rest of the EU via European Union membership?”

The report concluded that there is “a precedent for a small, romantic country, surrounded by hundreds of islands, perched on the extremity of Europe, seeking membership of the Euro: Greece.”

Mr Sillars said that Ms Sturgeon “received nothing” from her high-profile trip to Brussels this week other than “a reminder of realpolitik” from France and Spain that “Scotland was not an issue they would give room to.”

He said Scottish exports to the EU had declined over the past 12 years and that the rest of the UK and the world “is the big factor we have to take into account when deciding our future.”

Urging Ms Sturgeon to wait to see the terms of the Brexit trade deal, he said: “The next referendum will be Scotland’s last chance. The present direction being taken by the independence movement, hijacked by the SNP’s blind attraction for the EU, could lead us to defeat.”

Dean Lockhart, Scottish Conservative Shadow Economy Secretary, said: “Although departure from the EU may cause some difficulties, those difficulties won’t be addressed by leaving the UK too. Calling another knee-jerk independence referendum would make the uncertainty even greater.”

But an SNP spokesman said: “This is unforgivable hypocrisy, coming from a right-wing Tory think tank founded by Margaret Thatcher and backed by Brexiteers who have taken the UK economy to the edge of a cliff.”